Most ongoing annual value
Amex GoldWorth $130 a year on your spending, after fees and after only the credits you said you would use.
SwitchWize decision guide
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Amex Gold: which pays more on your spending?
Most card comparisons add up the credits and multiply the spending at a flattering point value. Then they say the fee pays for itself. This one applies the spending caps first. It counts a credit only if you would use it. It keeps the welcome offer out of the yearly number.
What you can expect
- No login required
- No credit pull
- Assumptions shown
- Sources included
Quick answer
Enter your real spending, read the yearly result, then read it again with every credit set aside. If one card only wins when you use every coupon, be honest about whether that is you.
At about $38,000 a year of spending, the American Express Gold Card earns about $130 more than the Chase Sapphire Preferred after annual fees. That assumes one cent a point and no credits. Online grocery, flights and your point value can change the answer.
If amex gold
Pays more when a large share of your spending is dining and U.S. supermarkets, and you use the credits.
If sapphire preferred
Costs less each year and pays well on dining, online grocery and travel, with no credits to track.
Key number to watch
With every credit set aside these are worth $735 and $605 a year. It is worth knowing the answer without them.
Test your situation
See your result in dollars
Change any number below to match your situation. No login is required. Saved decisions stay on this device, and signed-in users can revisit them across devices.
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Restaurants and takeout. Your real total, not your best month times twelve.
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In-store supermarket spending. American Express pays its higher rate here, up to a yearly cap.
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Grocery delivery and pickup orders. Chase pays its higher rate here.
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Flights you book directly with the airline.
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Spending that earns the base rate on both cards.
Your answer so far
The American Express Gold Card is ahead by about $130 a year on your spending, after fees and counting only the credits you said you would use. Set every credit aside and they are worth $735 and $605 a year, which is the comparison to trust if you know you will not track coupons.
See the full breakdownThe American Express Gold Card is ahead by about $130 a year on your spending, after fees and counting only the credits you said you would use. Set every credit aside and they are worth $735 and $605 a year, which is the comparison to trust if you know you will not track coupons.
Amex Gold
$735
ongoing value a year
Sapphire Preferred
$605
ongoing value a year
-$130 vs. baseline
Try a scenario
What could change this
With every credit set aside these are worth $735 and $605 a year. It is worth knowing the answer without them.
How certain: moderate
You have valued these at 1.0c and 1.0c. Those are your assumptions, not observed rates, and the ranking moves with them.
How certain: scenario dependent
What matters most
Best first year
Amex GoldWelcome offers are paid once. Check the ongoing row before letting a first-year figure choose a card you keep.
Best without chasing credits
Amex GoldThe honest answer for anyone who will not track monthly coupons, which is most people.
Side-by-side comparison
Where it earns most
The cap is the part most comparisons skip.
- Amex Gold
- Dining and U.S. supermarkets, up to a yearly spend cap
- Sapphire Preferred
- Dining, online grocery and travel
Annual fee
- Amex Gold
- Higher of the two
- Sapphire Preferred
- Lower of the two
Credits
Monthly credits are worth far less to people who forget them.
- Amex Gold
- Several, mostly monthly, each one needing to be remembered
- Sapphire Preferred
- None counted here
Supermarket versus online grocery
- Amex Gold
- Higher rate in store at U.S. supermarkets
- Sapphire Preferred
- Higher rate on online grocery
Who it suits
- Amex Gold
- Focused spenders who will use the credits
- Sapphire Preferred
- Spenders who want a lower fee and no coupons
What could go wrong
American Express Gold Card
- What needs to work
- You use the credits month after month, and your supermarket spending stays under the cap.
- Common problem
- Counting the credits at full value in advance and using about half of them.
- What it could cost
- Paying the fee for value you never claimed.
- How to prepare
- Reversible at renewal. Check what you used last year, not what you meant to.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
- What needs to work
- Your spending lands in dining, online grocery and travel, where the higher rates apply.
- Common problem
- Expecting the higher grocery rate on supermarket trips that earn the base rate.
- What it could cost
- The extra rewards a supermarket-heavy household would have earned on the Amex card.
- How to prepare
- Reversible at renewal.
A simple backup plan
Value it twice: with your credits, and without any
The gap between those two numbers shows how much of the card is a coupon book.
- 1Enter your real spending, not your hoped-for spending.
- 2Split groceries into supermarket trips and online orders.
- 3Read the yearly result, then read the scenario with every credit set aside.
- 4If a card only wins when every credit is used, ask whether you will really use them.
- 5If neither clears its fee, look at a card with no annual fee.
Educational illustration only. The right amount depends on your needs and timing.
What to do next
Question 1
Do you buy most groceries in stores at U.S. supermarkets?
Yes: The Amex rate is worth checking against its cap.
No: The Chase rate on online grocery may suit you better.
Question 2
Did you use your monthly credits last year?
Yes: Count them, and the Amex fee looks smaller.
No: Set them to zero and see whether the card still wins.
Question 3
Does either card clear its fee on your spending?
Yes: Take the one that clears it by more.
No: Neither does. Use a card with no annual fee.
Plain-text decision tree. Do you buy most groceries in stores at U.S. supermarkets? If yes, The Amex rate is worth checking against its cap. If no, The Chase rate on online grocery may suit you better. Did you use your monthly credits last year? If yes, Count them, and the Amex fee looks smaller. If no, Set them to zero and see whether the card still wins. Does either card clear its fee on your spending? If yes, Take the one that clears it by more. If no, Neither does. Use a card with no annual fee.
When to check again
- Either issuer changes an annual fee, earn rate or cap.
- Your spending pattern changes in a big way.
- You stop using a credit you had been counting.
- A card comes up for renewal.
Methodology
Spending in each category earns at that category rate up to any published yearly cap, and at the base rate above it. The cap is applied before points are valued. Points are converted at the value you enter. A credit is worth its face value only to the extent you say you would use it. The annual fee is subtracted in both the yearly and first-year views.
Fees, earn rates and caps come from the issuers own pages and carry an expiry date. If any required term is missing or out of date, the guide shows no winner instead of filling the gap.
- • Approval odds are not modelled and cannot be. Nothing here predicts that you would be approved.
- • Point values are your assumptions rather than observed rates, and the result moves with them.
- • Transfer partner availability and award pricing are not modelled.
- • Category definitions are narrower than they sound. Supermarkets often exclude warehouse clubs and some delivery orders.
- • Foreign transaction fees, purchase protections and travel insurance are not valued here.
- • Travel is counted as flights booked directly with the airline. Hotels and other travel earn the base rate here.
Card terms are re-read from the issuer pages about every 30 days. After that the guide shows no winner until they are read again. Editorial conclusions do not depend on affiliate availability.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Is the Amex Gold Card worth its annual fee?
It depends on how much of your spending is at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants, and how many monthly credits you really use. The calculator shows the answer with your credits and with all of them set aside.
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it for groceries?
Only for online grocery orders. Chase pays its higher grocery rate on those, while supermarket trips earn the base rate. Enter the two amounts separately to see the difference.
Why is my answer lower than other comparisons?
This one applies the spending caps before valuing points. It counts credits only if you would use them. It keeps welcome offers out of the yearly number. Those three choices remove most of the inflation.
How should I value a point?
However you actually redeem. Cash back is worth less than enthusiasts claim. Transfer partners can be worth more, but only if you use them. It is your assumption, and the guide labels it that way.
Does the welcome offer count?
Only in the first-year view, and only if you say you are eligible. Spending extra money just to reach a bonus is a purchase, not a return.
What happens if I spend past the Amex supermarket cap?
Everything above the cap earns the base rate. On heavy supermarket spending that can be much of it, so the calculator warns you when your entry crosses the cap.
Should I carry both cards?
Some people do, and send each category to the card that pays more on it. Two annual fees cost real money, so check the combined result clears both fees first.